Background Information
Relevant History that Shapes the Chinese Consciousness
The Opium Wars
The Opium Wars (simplified Chinese: 鸦片战争; Yāpiàn Zhànzhēng),
also known as the Anglo-Chinese Wars, lasted from 1839 to 1842
and 1856 to 1860 respectively, the climax of a trade dispute between
China under the Qing Dynasty and the United Kingdom. British
smuggling of opium from British India into China and the Chinese
government's efforts to enforce its drug laws erupted in conflict.
China's defeat in both wars forced the government to tolerate the opium
trade. The United Kingdom coerced the government into signing
Unequal Treaties, opening several ports to foreign trade and yielding
Hong Kong to Britain. The British also gained extraterritorial rights.
Several countries followed Britain and forced unequal terms of trade
onto China. This humiliation at the hand of foreign powers contributed
to the Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864), the Boxer Rebellion (18991901), and the downfall of the Qing Dynasty in 1911.
Today the humiliation of China in the 19th century is etched in the
consciousness of many Chinese. There is an intense national pride in
the building of China and its rise to become a world power.
The Chinese Revolution
Chinese Revolution in 1949 refers to the final stage of
fighting (1946–1950) in the Chinese Civil War. In the
official media of the Communist Party of China, this period
is known as the War of Liberation (simplified Chinese: 解放
战争; pinyin: Jiěfàng Zhànzhēng).
With the breakdown of peace talks between the Kuomintang
or Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), and the Communist
Party of China (CPC), an all-out war between these two
forces resumed. The Soviet Union provided limited aid to
the communists, and the United States assisted the
Nationalists with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of
military supplies and equipment , as well as the airlifting of
many Nationalist troops from central China to Manchuria,
an area their leader Chiang Kai-Shek saw as strategically
vital to defend Nationalist-controlled areas against a
communist advance.
The Chinese Revolution
Belatedly, the Nationalist government also sought to enlist popular
support through internal reforms. The effort was in vain, however,
because of the rampant corruption in government and the
accompanying political and economic chaos including massive
hyperinflation. By late 1948 the Nationalist position was bleak. The
demoralized and undisciplined Nationalist troops proved no match for
the communist People's Liberation Army. The communists were well
established in the north and northeast while the Nationalists, who had
an advantage in both numbers of men and weapons, controlled a
much larger territory and population than their adversaries, and
enjoyed considerable international support, nevertheless suffered from
a lack of morale and rampant corruption that greatly reduced their
ability to fight and their civilian support. Especially during World War II,
the best of the Nationalist troops were either wounded or killed while
the communists had suffered minimal losses.
The Chinese Revolution
After numerous operational set-backs in Manchuria, especially in
attempting to take the major cities, the communists were ultimately
able to seize the region and capture large Nationalist formations. This
provided them with the tanks, heavy artillery, and other combined-arms
assets needed to prosecute offensive operations south of the Great
Wall. In January 1949 Beiping was taken by the communists without a
fight, and its name was changed back to Beijing. Between April and
November, major cities passed from Nationalist to Communist control
with minimal resistance. In most cases the surrounding countryside
and small towns had come under Communist influence long before the
cities — part of the strategy of people's war. One of the decisive
battles was the Huai Hai Campaign.
The Chinese Revolution
Ultimately, the People's Liberation Army was victorious. On October 1,
1949 Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China. Chiang
Kai-shek, 600,000 Nationalist troops, and about two million Nationalistsympathizer refugees, predominantly from the former government and
business communities of the mainland, retreated to the island of
Taiwan and proclaimed the Republic of China. After that, there
remained only isolated pockets of resistance to the communists on the
mainland, such as in the far south. A PRC attempt to take the ROCcontrolled island of Kinmen was thwarted in the Battle of Kuningtou,
halting a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) advance towards Taiwan. In
December 1949 Chiang proclaimed Taipei, Taiwan the temporary
capital of the Republic, and continued to assert his government as the
sole legitimate authority of all China, while the PRC government did
likewise. The last fighting between Nationalist and Communist forces
ended with the communist capture of Hainan Island in May 1950.
Mao Zedong declares the
People’s Republic of China
Mao Zedong thought or Maoism
Mao Zedong Thought has always been the preferred term by the
Communist Party of China (CPC) and the word Maoism has rarely
been used in its English-language publications except
pejoratively. Likewise, Maoist groups outside China only began to
call themselves Maoist after the death of the man himself, a
reflection of Mao's view that he did not change, but only
developed, Marxism-Leninism.
In the People's Republic of China (PRC), Mao Zedong Thought is
part of the official doctrine of the CPC, but since 1978 and the
beginning of Deng Xiaoping's market economy-oriented reforms,
the concept of "socialism with Chinese characteristics" has
dominated politics and Chinese economic reform has been
implemented. The official definition of Mao's original ideology has
been radically altered and marginalized in the PRC.
Most of those using the self-description 'Maoist' believe that
capitalism was restored in the Soviet Union under Nikita
Khrushchev and in China under Deng Xiaoping.
Party reforms and the role of
Deng Xiaoping
Since the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, and the reforms of
Deng Xiaoping starting in 1978, the role of Mao's ideology
within the PRC has radically changed. Although Mao
Zedong Thought nominally remains the state ideology,
Deng's admonition to “seek truth from facts” means that
state policies are judged on their practical consequences
and the role of ideology in determining policy has been
considerably reduced. Deng also separated Mao from
Maoism, making it clear that Mao was fallible and hence
that the truth of Maoism comes from observing social
consequences rather than by using Mao's quotations as
holy writ, as was done in Mao's lifetime.
What does it mean to be Maoist?
In addition, the party constitution has been rewritten to give
the pragmatic ideas of Deng Xiaoping as much
prominence as those of Mao. One consequence of this is
that groups outside China which describe themselves as
Maoist generally regard China as having repudiated
Maoism and restored capitalism, and there is a wide
perception both in and out of China that China has
abandoned Maoism. However, while it is now permissible
to question particular actions of Mao and to talk about
excesses taken in the name of Maoism, there is a
prohibition in China on either publicly questioning the
validity of Maoism or questioning whether the current
actions of the CCP are "Maoist."
Rationalizing Maoism in
contemporary China
Although Mao Zedong Thought is still listed as one of the
four cardinal principles of the People's Republic of China,
its historical role has been re-assessed. The Communist
Party now says that Maoism was necessary to break
China free from its feudal past, but that the actions of Mao
are seen to have led to excesses during the Cultural
Revolution. The official view is that China has now reached
an economic and political stage, known as the primary
stage of socialism, in which China faces new and different
problems completely unforeseen by Mao, and as such the
solutions that Mao advocated are no longer relevant to
China's current conditions.
Chinese view of Mao today
Statues of Mao and tributes to him are found everywhere in
China. However, this is largely a ceremonial presence.
Although Mao himself is officially regarded by the CCP as
a "great revolutionary leader" for his role in fighting the
Japanese and creating the People's Republic of China,
Maoism as implemented between 1959 and 1976 is
regarded by today's CCP as an economic and political
disaster. In Deng's day, support of radical Maoism was
regarded as a form of "left deviationism" and being based
on a cult of personality, although these 'errors' are officially
attributed to the Gang of Four rather than to Mao himself.
Many Chinese credit Mao for uniting the country. He is still
a popular figure among the people. But, there is not much
discussion.
Minorities in China
The territory of contemporary China is composed of 5
Autonomous Provinces and numerous other autonomous
Regions, which reflect the fact that there are substantial
minority populations in China. Many of these are relatively
well integrated with the Han Chinese population.
However, Tibet and Xinjiang are large areas that have a
national identity that conflicts with their status in the current
Chinese state.
Recent events underscore the tension that exists between
the Chinese state and the aspirations of many of the
citizens of the autonomous regions. From the point of view
of the Chinese state economic develop is the number one
priority and any unrest threatens foreign investment and
continued prosperity. From the point of view of the Tibeten
and Uighur people their freedom of religion, speech and
even employment are impeded by the policies of the
government.
Map of Tibet
The Tibet Autonomous Region
Tibet remained a defacto independent state until shortly after
the conclusion of the Chinese civil war (War of Liberation),
when on October 1, 1949, the People's Republic of China
was formally proclaimed in Beijing and the following year
launched an armed invasion of Tibet. The Chinese army of
40,000 men routed the unprepared defending Tibetan army
of only 5,000 near the city of Chamdo. The defeat led to the
signing of the Seventeen point agreement by the
Tibetan Government.
Tibet is identified with the Autonomous Region, which includes
about half of historical Tibet, including the traditional provinces
of Ü-Tsang and Kham (western half). Its borders coincide
roughly with the actual zone of control of the government of
Tibet before 1959. Tibet is the second-largest province of
China by area (1,200,000 km²) after Xinjiang.
The situation in Tibet
Unlike other autonomous regions, the vast majority of
inhabitants are of the local ethnicity. As a result, there is
debate surrounding the extent of actual autonomy of the region.
The Chinese government argues that Tibet has ample
autonomy, as guaranteed under Articles 111-122 of the
Constitution of the People's Republic of China as well as
the Law on Regional Ethnic Autonomy, while many human
rights organizations around the world accuse the Chinese
government of persecuting and oppressing the local population.
The Central Tibetan Administration, commonly referred to as the
Tibetan Government in Exile and headed by the Dalai Lama
considers this situation an illegitimate military occupation and
holds that Tibet is a distinct sovereign nation with a long history
of independence, though the Dalai Lama currently does not
seek full independence for Tibet, but would accept an
autonomous status similar to that now held by Hong Kong.
The situation in Xinjiang
There continues to be concern over tensions in the region,
centering upon Uyghur cultural aspirations to
independence, and resentment towards what Amnesty
International and Human Rights Watch describe as
repression of non-Han Chinese culture.
Conversely, many Han Chinese perceive PRC policies of
ethnic autonomy as discriminatory against them. The US
and the UN have labelled the East Turkestan
Independence Movement as a terrorist group.
The tensions have occasionally resulted in major incidents
and violent clashes. For example, in 1962 60,000 Uyghur
and Kazak refugees fled northern Xinjiang into the Soviet
Union, escaping famine and political purges of the Great
Leap Forward era. In the 1980s there was a scattering of
student demonstrations and riots against police action that
took on an ethnic aspect; and the Baren Township riot in
April, 1990, an abortive uprising, resulted in more than 50
deaths.
The situation in Xinjiang
A police round-up of suspected separatists during Ramadan
resulted in large demonstrations that turned violent in
February 1997, and episode known as the Ghulja / Yining
Incident and led to in at least 9 deaths. The Urumqi bus
bombs of February 25, 1997, perhaps a response to the
crackdown that followed the Ghulja Incident, killed 9 and
injured 68. Despite much talk of separatism and terrorism
in Xinjiang, especially after the 9-11 attacks in the United
States and the US invasion of Afghanistan, the situation in
Xinjiang was quiet from the late nineties through mid-2006,
though inter-ethnic tensions no doubt remained.
On January 5, 2007 the Chinese Public Security Bureau
raided a "terrorist" training camp in the mountains near the
Pamir Plateau in southern Xinjiang. According to the
reports, 18 terrorists were killed and another 17 captured
in a gun battle between the East Turkestan Independence
Movement and PRC forces. One Police Officer was killed
and "over 1,500 hand grenades... were seized."